Azerbaijani MP`s report praised at PACE
Strasbourg, April 26 (AZERTAC). Azerbaijani MP Rafael Huseynov`s introductory memorandum on “The accession of non-member states to the Council of Europe conventions” has won high praise from members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Huseynov presented his report at a meeting of PACE`s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in Strasbourg.
European parliamentarians said the report was important in terms of the Council of Europe`s development
Former PACE Chairman Mevlut Cavusoglu described the document as “a tremendous contribution” to strengthening the Council of Europe and increasing its influence.
Cavusoglu said the problems analyzed in Huseynov`s report had been “among key issues on the Council of Europe`s agenda in recent years”.
Speaking to the presentation ceremony, the Azerbaijani MP said his report dealt with the issues which were “of great importance both to Europe`s present and future”.
He stressed the necessity of implementing the Council of Europe conventions in non-member states.
“Only 41 out 213 conventions of the Council of Europe are not open for non-member states.”
Huseynov expressed regret over the fact that “participation of non-member states in the Council of Europe conventions is rarely discussed”.
“The first convention which was open for non-members was adopted in 1953. Despite the increasing number of such conventions in the past 60 years, only 76 of them have been joined or ratified by non-member states.”
“And non-members have focused mostly on 30 conventions, half of which - directly or indirectly - deal with the issues of legal cooperation.”
Huseynov said it was in the Council of Europe`s interest that non-member states join more conventions.
The Azerbaijani MP advised that the PACE and the Committee of Ministers outline priorities as regards conventions to attract more non-member states, adding “intercultural dialogue and fight against cross-border crime could be two such priorities”.
The parliamentarians decided to arrange a colloquium with participation of experts as a follow-up to the discussions on the report.
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